Mine-protection system.



N. D. LEVIN- MINE PROTECTION SYSTEM.

APRucATloN man MAY14, 1912.

Patented .my 24, 1917.

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MINE PROTECTION SYSTENL a APPLLCATIQN FILED MAYH, 1912. Lfm Patented July 24,1917.

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N. D. LEVIN. MINE PROTECTION SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED' MAY 14. 1912.

Patented July 24, i917.

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' MIN PROTECTION s L234, 1 85.. 4 9'2' Patented July 24, 1917.

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MINE PROTECTION SYSTEM.

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NILS D. LEVIN, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

IVIINE-PROTECTION SYSTEM.

Application filed May 14, 1912.

To ZZ 'whom t may] concern:

Be it known that I, NiLs D. LEVIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus. in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, am the inventer of certain new and useful Improvements in Mine-Protection Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mine protection systems and it has for its primary objects: the provision of an improved protection system adapted to protect and insure the safety of those in the mine and also to preserve the property in case of the occurrence of an eX- plosion; the provision of improved safety mechanism automatically actuated by the action of an explosion.; the provision of an improved system or arrangement of safety mechanism wherein any one or more units may be automatically actuated by an eXplosion, and upon such actuation the remaining units actuated automatically. TheseV to gether with such other objects as may hereinafter appear l attain by meansof a construction illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a horizontal section through a mine entry showing a plan view of a unit of my improved safety mechanism; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through Fig. 1 showing a side elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a partial section through the mechanism for operating the safety doors; and Fig. 4: is a side elevation of a detail of the operating mechanism; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified form of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4;; Figs. 6 and 7 disclose another form of closure mechanism; Fig. 6 being a section taken on the line Vil-VI of Fig. 7, and Fig. 7 an end view of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is an end elevation of still another form of closure mechanism and Fig. 9 is a detail of the operating means employed in the mechanism shown in Fig. 8. Figs. 10 and 11 are a plan and side view respectively of a form of closure mechanism of the same general type as that shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 12 is a longitudinal section through a modified form of closure or obstructing means; and Figs. 13 and 14 are views of a detail of this form of mechanism; Fig. 15 is a diagram of the wiring of the system, and Fig. 16 is a section through a portion of a mine illus trating the general application of the entire system. Fig. 17 is a diagram of another system Of wiring; and Figs,` 18 and 19 are Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2st, 1917.

Serial No. 697,352.

respectively a partial section and end eleva* tion of a modification of the dejvice of Fig. 12.

In mining operations and particularly in coal mining, the most damaging explosions are dust explosions. Explosions may start with gas but as a general rule the mine entries are ventilated and contain little or no gas, and an explosion therefore would not travel very far if it were not for the dust that feeds the flame. Experience has shown that during an explosion, there is a very strong current of air rushing in toward the explosion, this current being su'liicient to throw a man down or lift him off the ground and carry him a distance toward the flame. lmmcdiately following this inrush of air is an outrush of flame and hot gases, which results from the dust which is picked up by the inrushing air and is fed to the flame. Amon g the chief objects of my invention is the automatic prevention of the inrush of air above referred to, so that the explosion will lose in violence and soon die out, and the confinement of the gaseous vapors, commonly known as after-damp-which follow an explosion. My invention further contem* plates the choking of the flames by means of dust or by the provision of non-combustible gases, the material from which they are formed being automatically carried to the point of explosion in a manner hereinafter to be described.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, it will be seen that in carrying out my invention, I provide a recess 3 in one of the walls of the entry 4l which is adapted to receive a sliding door 5 supported by rollers 6 from an overhead track 7 which extends from the inner end of the recess to the opposite wall of the entry and is mounted on the posts 8 and 9. The door is moved along the track in position to close the entry by means of a coil spring 10, one end of which is fastened to the door and the other end to a shaft 11 which is rotatably mounted in the door and carries a pinion 12 which engages a rack 13 supported from the track 7. rlhe spring 10 is held in coiled position byI means of mechanism to be described, and when released, rotates the pinion which moves along the rack 13 and drags the door with it. The mechanism for releasing the spring comprises a handle or arm 14 (see Fig. 3) the end of which is engaged by a trigger lever 15 which is pivotally mounted on the ful;r

crum block 16 bolted to the supporting plate 17. The lever 15 is actuated by mechanism which I designate as a receiver and which comprises a shallow casing 18 fastened to the support 17, a plate 19 movably mountedk in the casing and a bellows 20 which serves to yieldingly hold the plate in position. The lever 15 is connected to the plate 19 by means of the link 21. When an explosion occurs, the atmospheric pressure is at' once greatly increased, and the plate 19 will be forced inwardly against the bellows and the outer end of the lever 15 moved clear of the arm 14 to release the spring 10. From the foregoing, it will be `apparent that the door will be automatically moved to lclosed position, upon the occurrence of an explosion.

My invention contemplates the provision of a plurality of safety closures or other forms of obstructing devices which are a'rranged at various places through the mine entries and which are electrically operated in such' manner that upon the automatic actuation of anyrnechanism located near the point of an explosion, all of the safetyI de-` vices ywill be actuated throughoutthe mine. To this end,`in addition tothe automatic receiver mechanism already described, I provide for each safety device a solenoid 22 or equivalent electromagnetic mechanism, whichl is connected to the lever 15 at 23. The various solenoids are preferably connected in multiple, the diagrams in Figs. 15

and 17 showing two systems of such wiring, and each lever 15 carries at its outer end switch contact bars 24 which make contact with' the terminals 25. The closure of, any one of these switches closes the circuit for all the solenoids and upon the actuation of any one of the receiver mechanisms the circuit will'b'e closed and all the solenoids actuated to release the operating mechanism vfor the variousv doors and the like. closing off the various entries the inward rush of air is prevented with the result that no dust is fed to the flame. In som'e cases it is probable that the doors immediately adjacent the point of explosion `may not have time to close before the back rush of air, but they will always close in Sufficient time to prevent the after-damp from circulating through the mine.A The other vdoors will be closed in suflicient time however.

In Fig. 5', I have illustrated a slightly different form of receiver adapted more particularly for use in a 'system where the safety devices are actuated by electricity solely. In this arrangement, I provide a 'cylinder 26V secured to the support 17 and provided with a piston 27 which is adapted to be moved by change of atmospheric pressure as hereinbefore described. The stem 27a of the piston 27 carries an insulatingblock 28 to adapted to contact with the 'terminals 25,

By thus j The closure of any of these switches will operate all of the solenoids which actuate the' safety devices.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have illustrated a modified form of closure device which comprises a sheet 29 of material of sufhcient strength rolled about an uprightroller 30 mounted in the supporting beams of the mine to one side of the entry. The sheet is drawn across the entry by means of a cable 31 which passes around second roller 32, over the pulley 88 and the large drum 84. rlhe large drum is operatedl by means of a Huid pressure piston 35, the stem of which is connected to a cable 36 which passes arou-nd a smal-'l drum 87 bolted; to the large drum. This arrangement of drums multiplies the strokeI of the' piston suiiiciently for the purposes required. The admission of iiuid pressure to the cylinder is controlled byy the valve 38 which is kpreferably operated by a solenoid 22 in thek same manner as previously described. Y

In Fig. 8 I have illi'xstrated an arrange` mient similar to that of Fig. 6. This device comprises a strip' 29 of suitable material which is rolled about a horizontally disposed roller 39 and is provided at its lower end with a weighted member 40'recessed at 41 sothat it will drop below the tracks 42 and -1 completely close the entry. The rollerfshaft f In Figs. 10 and 11 I have lillustrated a door closure' composed of two door' members 45 and 45a which are mounted in opposing recesses out in the walls of the entry and are drawn together to closefthe entry byy means of the weight 4G, the cable 47 and the pulleys 48, 49 and 50. An end of the cable is fastened to each door. The counterbalance weight 46 is released by a trip mechanism comprising a trip plate 51 pivotally supported on a platform 52 and a trigger 53 engaging the end of the trip plate. The trigger is operated by a solenoid 22 or any other forms of operating mechanism' described.

In Fig. 12 a modified form of obstructing means is shown. My invention also contemplates the obstruction oriilling of the entries with non-combustible gases which will choke the llames of explosion, and 4to this end I provide a receptacle 53 secured to the roof of the entry,- the bottom 54 being hinged at one end. The bottom 54 is held in closed position by means of a trigger 55 which is operated preferably by a solenoid 22 or other suitable mechanism such as described. The inner side wall of the receptacle is hinged to the bottom plate 511 at 53 so that when the trigger is released the receptacle will be immediately emptied. The receptacle is filled with stone dust, marble dust, and other like material, which may, if desired, be of such chemical composition that when brought into contact with heat it will generate carbon-dioxid or other non-combustible gas which chokes out theiiames of the eXplosion or fires resulting therefrom. I prefer not to rely solely on the formation of gases, however, and provide dust in sufficient quantities to choke the flames by its volume. The dust is maintained in dry condition by means of the electric heater 5a. A number of recifeptacles are located at various points throughout the entries and when emptied automatically on the occurrence of an eX- plosion, the back rush of air carries the stone dust to the point of explosion and thus practically forms a wall or obstruction to the advance of the flames and the spread of the explosion. This form of safety obstruction may be used in place of the safety door constructions already described, but is preferably used in conjunction therewith as will presently appear. Another form of automatic receiver mechanism is shown in section in Fig. 13. This form of mechanism is particularly adapted in a. system where the safety mechanism is operated solely by electricity, and it comprises a suitable casing 55 in which is mounted a fixed insulation block 56 and a movable insulation block 57, the two blocks being normally held apart by means of the springs 58. Switch contact blocks 59 and 60 are adapted to make contact and close the electrical circuit when the insulating block 57 is moved inwardly by the action of an explosion. The block 57 is held in position in the casing 55 by means of the rod 61. Fig. 14 is an end view of the device of Fig. 13. Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic illustration of the preferred wiring of the system. The positive Wire is indicated by the numeral 62, the negative wire by 63, the electro-magnetic members by 64C and the receiving mechanisms and switches by 65. In Fig. 17 I have shown the electromagnetic members connected in multiple, both the positive and the negative sides of the circuit being broken.

Referring now to Fig. 16, it will be seen that the general application of my invention to a mine is illustrated. As therein indicated, the main. entries are preferably provided with a plurality of the receptacles 53, the electro-magnetic operating means therefor being connected electrically. The butt entries 4 are preferably provided with door closures 5, such for example as those shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The workings from the butt entries are provided with manually operated doors 66, with air pipes 67 and telephones 68. Each working may also be provided with a receiver mechanism 65 adapted to actuate the safety devices throughout the mine. The receiving mechanisms for emptying the receptacles 53 are mounted in the supporting piles 69 in the main entries.

In Figs. 18 and 19 I have illustrated a modification of the device of Fig. 12. In, this construction the receptacle 53 is provided with a hinged bottomplate 54k, having the end wall of the receptacle hinged thereto at 53', the contents being kept in dry condition by an electric coil or heating member 54', as before described. The bottom plate is held in closed position by means of the vanes 70 and 71 which are pivotally suspended from the support 72 adjacent the outer end of the plate 54 in such manner th at the bar 73 which is fastened on the bottom plate rests on the upper edges of the vanes as indicated at 74C. A draft of air in either direction from an explosion moves the vanes as indicated in dotted lines and releases the bar 73 upon which the bottom plate drops inwardly discharging the contents of the receptacle.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that upon an explosion in any part of the workings, all parts of the mine are eifectually shut oft' by automatic means, the inrush or back rush of air carrying with it the coal dust is prevented, as well as the spread of after damp, and in case the eX- plosion should occur in a main entry the progress of the flames is obstructed by the presence of dust which is automatically carried to the point of explosion. The advantages of the mechanism will be readily apparent.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following: f

1. A mine closure device comprising in combination, a driving member for moving the closure device to closed position, locking means for normally holding said driving member against movement, a lever having operative relation with said locking means, a lever-operating means, an electric circuit, and a switch operated by said lever to close said electric circuit when the lever is operated to disengage the locking means from the driving member.

2. In safety equipment for mines, a mine closure device releasably maintained in position, a lever for releasing the said closure, operating means for the lever. an electric circuit, a switch for closing said circuit carried by the lever and closed when the lever is operated to release the said closure.

3. In safety equipment for mines, a plurality of electrically connected mine closures releasably maintained in position, an operating lever for each of said closures, a pressure diaphragm for moving the lever to release the minev closure, a solenoid for moving said lever, to release the mine closure, the diaphragm and the solenoid being mounted so that each may operate the lever independently of the other. y

4:. In safety equipment for mines, a plurality of mine closuresreleasably maintained in position, an operating lever Jfor each of said, closures, a pressure diaphragmA and a solenoid .operatively connected to each of said levers, all of. said solenoids being electrically connected one to the other, electrical contacts on each of said levers whereby whenL anyone lever isL moved by its diaphragm to release one oi said closures the electrical contacts complete the circuit between the solenoids and cause each of the other leversto be actuated by its solenoid.

5. In safety equipment for mines, a plurality of. mine closures releasably maintained release kmeans and closes, they adjoining switch, completing the circuit of the solenoids.

6. In safety equipment for mines,l a mine closure device releasably maintained in position, a pressure operated member for each closure, means releasably maintaining the closure in position, an, electric circuitv and a switch for closing said circuit, and operative connections between said pressure operated member and said release means and said switch.

'l'. In safety equipment for mines, a barrier adapted for automatic movement, releasabley locking means adapted to lock the barrier against movement, electromagnetic actuating means and atmospheric pressure actuating means, the said releasable locking means being subject to actuation by both of said actuating'means. Y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses. y Y

NILS D. LEVI-N.

Witnesses:

W. E. MOODY, O. B. KLOETZER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the fommissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 

